about us

Since 2003, the Armed Forces Reserve Family Assistance Fund (AFRFAF) has supported families of deployed Reservists who face short-term financial needs and other emergencies. Whether it’s a Blue-Star flag, a bus ride home for Thanksgiving, or fixing a car that suddenly won’t start, the Armed Forces Reserve Family Assistance Fund is dedicated to helping, in our small way, the families of soldiers who are deployed serving their country, and us.
The AFRFAF organizes an annual golf tournament at the United States Military Academy at West Point, as well as other fundraising and educational events. AFRFAF uses its fundraising proceeds to assist families of Reservists called up to active duty survive the small everyday emergencies occasioned by the absence of a spouse, parent, or another family member. AFRFAF’s mission is to make money or manpower available to active-duty Reserve families to fix boilers, patch leaky roofs, drive a mom to a doctor’s appointment, or any one of a thousand different little things the family would normally rely on the deployed soldier to do, or provide for.
The AFRFAF is a registered not-for-profit corporation under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and all contributions to AFRFAF are tax-deductible to the full extent that they exceed the value of any goods and services received and as otherwise permitted by applicable law.

jack buttine

president

edward levy

secretary

Leslie R. yellin

board member

david pittaway

vice president

siomary melendez

board member

richard stiek

assistant vice president

 

ray dean

board member

President

Jack M. Buttine | President
Lieutenant Colonel, USAR (vet)

Jack M. Buttine retired in 2024 after a 44 year career in the insurance industry. While on active duty from 1972 to 1981, he commanded Infantry and Special Forces units in Europe and Panama. As a Reserve officer from 1981 – 1999, Mr. Buttine served as a Military Police officer in the 800th Military Police Brigade and commanded the 310th MP Battalion.

Mr. Buttine’s military awards include two Meritorious Service Medal and two Army Commendation Medals. He received the Expert Infantryman, HALO & Master Parachutist Badges and completed Airborne, Ranger and Special Forces training. He is the former President of the West Point Society of New York and a past board member of the Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and Airman’s Club in New York City.

Mr. Buttine is a 1972 graduate of the United States Military Academy and holds a B.S. degree in Engineering. He lives in North Palm Beach, FL & Shelter Island, NY with his wife. They have two adult children and three grandchildren.

 

Vice President

David B. Pittaway | Vice President
Major, USAR
David B. Pittaway is Senior Managing Director of Castle Harlan, Inc., a private equity investment company, where he has worked since the company’s founding in 1987. Prior to joining Castle Harlan, Mr. Pittaway was Vice President, Strategic Planning, at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, Inc., a management consultant with Bain & Company in Boston, Mass., and an attorney specializing in labor relations with the firm of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius. Mr. Pittaway serves on the Board of Directors of a number of companies including McCormick & Schmick Management Group, Wilshire Restaurant Group, Inc., Equipment Support Services, Inc., Morton’s Restaurant Group, Caribbean Restaurants, LLC and Branford Chain, Inc.
Mr. Pittaway is a graduate of the University of Kansas (B.A. with Highest Distinction), and has both an M.B.A. with High Distinction (Baker Scholar) and a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard University.

Assistant Vice President

Richard E. Stiek 
United States Military Academy, Class of 1996
Richard E. Stiek is an attorney in Port Washington, New York.  After graduating from West Point in 1996, Richard served in Field Artillery Lieutenant at Fort Sill, OK, in USAFATC (US Army Field Artillery Training Center) as Battery XO for one year, before transferring to III ACA, 3/18th FA Battalion. While there, Rick served in various positions from platoon leader / FDO to Assistant S/3. After leaving the Army in 2001, as a First Lieutenant, Richard began graduate studies.
Mr. Stiek obtained a Masters in Clinical Psychology from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and earned his Juris Doctor from Seton Hall Law School. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Long Island General MacArthur Memorial fund and sits on the Board of Governors for the West Point Society of New York.

Secretary

Edward M. Levy
Lieutenant Colonel, AUS-Retired

Edward M. Levy is the Director of Critical Infrastructure for Noble Supply & Logistics. Previous leadership positions as a senior security executive were with Lone Star Funds and Hudson Advisors, MetLife, Thomson Reuters, Pfizer, CIT Group, and the Empire State Building.  Ed retired from the US Army at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel with over 21-years of service as a Military Police officer, serving in key command and staff positions in the United States and Europe. 

He holds a BS from Western Carolina University and an MPA from the University of Oklahoma.  Ed is also a graduate of the FBI National Academy and the Army Command & General Staff College.  He also obtained the academic title of Assistant Professor while serving at the United States Military Academy at West Point, NY.

Board Member

Siomary Melendez 
Siomary Melendez is an Operational Resilience practitioner. She completed her Reserve commitment in 2005. Ms. Melendez graduated from Boston University with a Master of Science degree in Business Continuity, Security & Risk Management, and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management. Her professional designations include being a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) by Project Management Institute (PMI), Certified Business Continuity Professional (CBCP) & Certified Business Continuity Vendor (CBCV) by Disaster Recovery Institute, a Certified Protection Professional (CPP) by ASIS International, and ISO 22301 Senior Lead Implementer.  

 

Board Member

Ray Dean 
2nd Lieutenant, USNG
Raymond Dean is the former President and founder of PEI…”The Security Engineers” – a New York-based Security Systems Integration firm he began in 1974.  The firm was sold in 2007 and has ultimately evolved as a part of Stanley Convergent Security Systems…He eventually retired from Stanley in 2013. He subsequently served as a partner and Senior Vice President of Access Systems Integration…a Security systems integration firm that was sold to ADT in 2018. 
Ray has served as a Board member of several organizations including serving as a Governor and subsequently as Secretary of the  New York Athletic Club. He is a long time member of ASIS and currently continues to serve as Chairman of the ASIS New York City Annual Security Trade Show which he co-founded in 1990. He is a former officer of the New York Army National Guard and loves nothing better than spending his free time on the Golf Course.

Board Member

Leslie R. Yellin

Leslie Yellin understands military family life from the inside out. Born into a military household, she spent her childhood moving across the globe — from Germany and the Philippines to England and bases throughout the United States — learning early on the resilience, sacrifice, and community that define military families.
That foundation never left her. Leslie was a proud member of the Air Force JROTC and earned multiple scholarships based on her service experience to attend Jacksonville University. Today, she and her husband — retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Edward Levy — continue to live that commitment. Together, they have personally mentored and sponsored approximately ten West Point graduates, walking alongside them through their entire time at the Academy and welcoming each one as a permanent member of their family.

The Yellin-Levy family’s dedication to this organization runs deep and spans more than fifteen years — a testament not to a single act of generosity, but to a sustained and hands-on investment in the families who serve. Lt. Colonel Levy (Ret.) serves as Secretary of the Board of Directors, while Leslie serves as a Board Member. Together they help chair the organization’s annual golf outing fundraiser alongside their fellow board members — an event they also personally sponsor each year. Their involvement has helped make the outing one of the signature moments on the AFRAF calendar, and their continued leadership ensures its growth and impact year after year.

Professionally, Leslie is a nationally recognized consumer products executive and brand builder. She personally designed pet toys that remain in Nielsen Data’s top ten best-selling pet products to this day, with her designs sold through more than 50,000 retail doors across the country. Her career spans over three decades of retail expansion, product innovation, and brand leadership at the highest levels of the consumer products industry.
Leslie resides in Westport, Connecticut, and brings to this organization something no resume can fully capture — a lifelong, personal understanding of what military families give, and what they sometimes need in return.